002p1.jpg
Jamestowner John Doty was on hand Tuesday morning to watch as the huge aircraft carrier the USS Forrestal was towed out to sea. Doty, 62, an island native, served aboard the Forrestal from September 1968 to July 1972. One of his duties aboard the massive ship, large enough that it was called a “super carrier,” was operating the hangar deck elevators that carried the planes and ordnance up to the flight deck. “I’ll remember this day forever,” Doty said as he watched the Forrestal leave Narragansett Bay. “It’s sad to see her go.” The Forrestal was a local landmark. Decommissioned and mothballed at the Newport Navy base since 1993, it was expected to arrive in Philadelphia today and will either be scrapped or sunk as an artificial marine reef. See page 6 for another picture. Photos by Jeff McDonough